Nobody in the league is better coming off the high pick than Steve Nash.

He’s quick, but it’s not about quick. He’s got crazy handles, but it’s not about that either. The pick-and-roll is all about decision making and there is nobody who makes the right read and quick pass better than Nash.

But his long-time partner in the play — Amare Stoudemire — has gone bright lights, big city. Half of the partnership for the deadliest tandem in the league is gone.

So now who sets his picks?

The Suns brought in Hedo Turkoglu to be the new four on the team, but he is more a point-forward who wants to be the decision maker. Last season in Toronto Turkoglu was the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll 245 times, he set the pick once (via Synergy Sports). Yes one time. (By the way, he was not terribly good as a ball handler in the pick-and-roll; he was far more efficient as a spot up shooter and, good news for the Suns here, in transition.)

However it’s easy to see that the two guys that are going to carry the roll-man duties are Lopez and Warrick. I’ve never thought of Lopez as a huge pick-and-roll threat, but his numbers say otherwise.

Although the sample size is smaller, Lopez was actually more effective out of the pick and roll than Stoudemire. He shot a ridiculous 67.6 percent out of the play and was able to score 67.8 percent of the time.

Small sample size gives you things like Lopez being better than Stoudemire on the play, it will not the case when he gets more defensive attention in the role. But he can still be quite good at it. That is a big man who sets a wide pick, has good hands and who can move pretty quickly to the hoop. He my need some polish but he should be a threat.

Warrick will get his chances off the bench (with Hedo often). Channing Frye will be there for the pick-and-pop.

And Steve Nash will still have the ball. The Suns will be just fine because of that.

I don’t remember playing tonight. I didn’t play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.

Like it or not, motivation is part of an NBA coach’s job.

But that’s also precisely what Popovich is doing.

His credentials dwarf any other coach’s. He can play to his own ego and absolve himself of responsibility – and players will seek to please him. His years of success have earned him the ability to motivate this way, a method no other coach could use without alienating his team.

So, why not hold Motiejunas to what became a four-year, $31 million offer sheet once matched? Houston got something in return – a later trigger date on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ 2017-18 salary. Originally, that decision had to be made March 1 – which would’ve meant dropping Motiejunas from the team this season to prevent his salary from counting next season. Now, the Rockets can make that call in July, after this season is complete.

The following two Julys, Houston will also have a choice on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ upcoming salary or dropping him.

Essentially, Motiejunas is signing the most lucrative Hinkie Special in NBA history. If he plays well and stays healthy, the Rockets have Motiejunas at an affordable rate. If he struggles or his back injuries flare up, they can drop him with little to no penalty.

After they backed themselves into this corner, Motiejunas and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, didn’t do so bad. Considering the similarity between this contract and the Nets’ original offer sheet, it seems Houston helped Armstrong save face after a bungled free agency (which is easier to accept when you’re adding a talented reserve to a formidable team).

But for how little is guaranteed and how much control the Rockets hold over the next four years, wouldn’t Motiejunas have been better off accepting the $4,433,683 qualifying offer?

This means Motiejunas can’t sign with the Nets, who signed him to the original offer sheet, for one year.

I bet it also means Motiejunas and Houston have agreed to a new contract. Otherwise, why release him from the offer sheet? The Rockets would be giving up a tremendous amount of leverage out of the goodness of their hearts – unless this is just a prelude to a new deal with Houston.